Dwardu's Scoops - 16

Volume 1, Issue 16

20.05.2022

St Edward’s College

Dwardu’s Scoops Government issues glowing report on College’s educational quality

By Sylvana Debono

Synergy and positivity were two main elements which the Quality Assurance Department within the Ministry for Education observed recurrently in their recent visit to St Edward’s College. In a report compiled by the QAD following a day of discussions and observation, the QAD had high praise for the educational techniques implemented by the College’s Senior Management team. Headmaster Nollaig Mac An Bhaird said that this was a top notch report, one which is the result of all the hard work of the teachers and staff for the good of the students.

Teaching in a serene atmosphere The reviewers noted that the lessons they observed were conducted in “…a serene atmosphere which is conducive to learning.” They attributed this to a “…positive rapport between the educators and learners and the effective classroom management strategies implemented in class”. The QAD team noted a positive school ethos which they attributed to a shared vision among all the staff: “The distributed leadership approach, the synergy among the members of the Senior Leadership Team, collaboration… and… positive relationships between educators and learners are among the factors contributing towards this ethos.”

Commenting on this sharing of vision, Mr Mac An Bhaird said that this aspect is vital in ensuring that all key areas of the college education are cemented together and move forward togethContinued on pg 9

In this issue….

Quality assured …………...Pg1 Of Birds and Charades .....Pg2 Solar ovens …….……..Pg4 Submarine prep …………...Pg5 Junior calisthenics ....Pg6 The Crowning ……………..Pg6 Soil searching ………......Pg7 Poets’ Corner ..………...Pg8 JAYE Winners …….…...Pg10

Ms Anna Azzopardi is this month’s Staff Member of the Month. A mystery shopping ad hoc committee found her service with a smile impeccable and her dedication trurly deserving. Well Done Anna!

Dwardu’s Scoops

Maltese Charades

By Margaret Bartolo

As a wrap-up on the Maltese lesson about Verbs we organized a game of Charades. The boys were split into 2 teams and a member from each time had to draw a card from a box, read the verb and act it out to his team. In order to highlight the difference between the feminine and the masculine verbs we had 16 cards in all, 8 pink with the verb in the feminine and 8 blue with the verb in the masculine form. We did this to ensure that the boys will grasp the difference between the two forms.

After that, the teams were encouraged to come up with their own verb and they were then asked to act it out to the other team members respectively. Verbs in Maltese are quite challenging however the boys not only enjoyed playing the game and practising verbs in Maltese, but they definitely gained more confidence through this game. In fact, this was reflected in the activity that ensued in class wherein the boys had to write a list of verbs in Maltese and sort them in two groups to bring out the difference between the feminine and the masculine verbs in Maltese.

Helping the Għadira Nature Reserve

By Louise Mallia

Jack, and George Tonna and Gregory Micallef together presented a donation collected, thanks to their fundraising effort, to Birdlife Malta.

These boys along with Joe Mifsud made decorative plaques from lava beads. The total amount raised before wrapping up their venture came up to a commendable €371. Birdlife and animal welfare are causes the boys feel very strongly about. Birdlife Malta advised the boys on the day that after some discussion, it was decided that the funds collected would be allocated to a project in waiting at the Ghadira Nature reserve. There seems to be a recurring issue with birds encountering difficulties when the water at the reserve starts drying up after the winter. A project, using the funds raised by the boys, will now tackle the issue.

The boys were made to feel very proud of their achievement.

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Volume 1, Issue 16

“You’ve done us proud” - Headmaster BODYOU, the JAYE company set up and run by the students of the IB Diploma at St Edward’s College took the podium in the awards ceremony held on the 14th May 2022. They came third in a highly competitive group of 22 teams from schools and colleges around Malta.

“I am so proud of them, they really worked hard for this,” said a jubilant Ms Busuttil Gili, mentor, prodder and promoter of JAYE par excellence. Mr Jolen Galea, head of the IB Diploma at St Edward’s College was equally thrilled at the good result, given, as he pointed out, the highly competitive ambience. “This is what a great college does, it helps students achieve their potential and these students have really done the College proud,” commented Headmaster Nollaig Mac An Bhaird.

BodYou is a vegan-friendly brand that created scented candles in unique moulds for low prices. “We believe that aromatherapy has lots of benefits on a human's organisms. For instance, certain scents can relieve stress or stimulate brain productivity, some help you fall asleep or even make you feel happy.

They can also help in creating a cosy ambience. Our aim as a company is to help people overcome their difficulties, specifically those of mental issues like anxiety, insomnia, and stress-related disorders”, said the company spokesperson when interviewed by Dwardu’s Scoops.

This year the College was represented by two teams in the prestigious Junior Achievement Young Enterprise. The Grade 12 IB teams were Bodyou and Eleganzia lead by their respective CEOs Lina Ishakova and Mohamed Adel Masoud Al Ghawi. There were 22

It’s in his shoes Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong it will.

Julian Coppini, regular contributor to Dwardu’s Scoops and College Captain is also an IB student and part of the winning team. On the way to the awards evening, Mr Coppini, all scrubbed up and full of butterflies, was on the way to the awards ceremony when disaster struck: his formal shoes split.

Mr Jolen Galea, Head of IB, recalled, laughing: “So I lent him mine but they wouldn’t fit. So I gave mine to Nate who gave his to Julian and I took Julian’s.”

This musical shoes-swap saved the day as, subsequently, Mr Coppini was called on stage with his fellow JAYE entrepreneurs. At least, he did not have to do it in socks!

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Eleganzia team showed great sportsmanship in supporting Bodyou team—#wearealledwardians

“This is what a great college does, it helps students achieve their potential and these students have really done the College proud,” Headmaster

Dwardu’s Scoops

By Ian Stilon

Baking Hot

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By Cheryl Ann Cuschieri

A year 7X student, Luca Agius, wanted to try out his science project at school. They had to built a solar oven to investigate the change in solar energy to heat energy. This will then cause the chocolate to melt. The aluminium foil was used as it reflects heat, the black cardboard was used as it absorbs heat and the plastic cover was used to trap some more heat. It was a bit windy which is why the plastic cover appears a bit wrinkled.

Volume 1, Issue 16

Up Periscope!

By Philip Elder

As part of learning about the properties of light, 6Y made periscopes to show that there are rules that govern how light reflects off surfaces (even though each periscope was different as you can see).

Fishing around

By Cheryl Ann Cuschieri

Year 9 Biology students recently visited the National Aquarium where they had the opportunity to learn more knowledge about various types of fish, jellyfish and reptiles.

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Dwardu’s Scoops

Junior School Sports day

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All pictures on this link

Volume 1, Issue 16

O Mary, we crown thee The feast of the Crowning of Our Lady is a long-standing tradition at St Edward’s College, indeed in all Catholic schools in Malta.

Thankfully, this year the College had a more ‘normal’ Crowning ceremony as the Covid restrictions were lifted and the boys could participate as a school and sing out loudly as our Chaplain, Fr Manuel Camilleri Rodo led the celebration of Mass.

Testing the soil

By Dean Galea Pellicano

On Friday 13th May, the year 12 ESS students conducted a simple but very telling soil experiment to observe the composition of the soil found at college. After an outdoor lesson on irrigation, planting and soil fertility properties, the students scooped up a handful of soil and placed them in glass jars, closing them off with a lid.

Back in the laboratory they added water, just enough to submerge the soil, and shook the jar to mix and break up the soil. The jars were left for 24h so as to let the heavier soil particles sink in and have a clear distinction between three different layers of soil components; sand, silt and clay.

Through observation and analysis the students concluded that the approximate soil composition found at college is 70% sand, 2% silt and 28% clay, which is termed as Sandy Clay Loam, which is ideal for small scale cultivation of potatoes, onions and carrots, but not considered very fertile soil. Through research they discovered that these are common crops planted in Malta, since local soil is conductive to the crowing of these crops. In fact, our gardener, Joe, already plants some of these crops with good yields.

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Dwardu’s Scoops

Budding Poets

Compiled by Mr Philip Elder Page 8

Volume 1, Issue 16

Well-planned and engaging lessons er seamlessly.

Referring to the lessons which they had observed, the QAD team said that the teachers “… planned their lessons well, had clear learning objectives and made use of manipulatives, visuals, and other resources to facilitate the learning and teaching processes.” They added that the teaching staff worked in “…synergy for the benefit of all learners in class… learners were meaningfully engaged.”

They also noted that the direction of the college in engaging critical thinking was reaping results: “Think, Understand and Learn pedagogy. … helped learners to think and reason things out.”

Mr Mac An Bhaird thanked the teachers and staff for their hard work which, he said, very obviously spoke for itself, and it spoke volumes.

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St Edward’s College

St Edward's College Triq San Dwardu Birgu (Citta Vittoriosa) Cottonera - BRG 9039 Malta, Europe

At St Edward's College we strive to create exemplary citizens in this increasingly globalised and technological world, placing strong emphasis on character formation, genuine intercultural understanding and leadership skills which will assist them to contribute to the well-being of society.

Phone: +356 2788 11 99 Email: communications@stedwards.edu.mt

St Edward’s JAYE company on winners podium BODYOU, the JAYE company set up and run by the students of the IB Diploma at St Edward’s College took the podium in the awards ceremony held on the 14th May 2022. They came third in a highly competitive group of 22 teams from schools and colleges around Malta.

“I am so proud of them, they really worked hard for this,” said a jubilant Ms Busuttil Gili, mentor, prodder and promoter of JAYE par excellence. Mr Jolen Galea, head of the IB Diploma at St Edward’s College was equally thrilled at the good result, given, as he pointed out, the highly competitive ambience.

“This is what a great college does, it helps students achieve their potential and these students have really done the College proud,” commented Headmaster Nollaig Mac An Bhaird.

Continued on pg3